Instant Pot Skinny Alfredo is a healthier version of my famous Dump & Start Alfredo recipe. This healthy alternative is made with evaporated milk instead; NO HEAVY CREAM! Substituting evaporated milk for the heavy cream cuts the calorie and fat content by more than half making this a guilt-free, healthier Alfredo!
Instant Pot Skinny Alfredo is here for all of you who requested a lighter version of my famous Dump and Start Alfredo Recipe! I tested quite a few different ways to substitute the heavy cream, and I’ve gotta say, this comes pretty dang close to the real thing!
Instead of using heavy cream, this recipe uses evaporated milk. Did you know that heavy cream has 5 times the amount of fat that evaporated milk does? And more than double the calories?
If you are getting ready for swim suit season and trying to was as light as possible, this SKINNY version is 100% made for you!
To make this healthier, evaporated milk is used instead of heavy whipping cream. It comes together a little bit differently than the original recipe though.
For this recipe, the noodles, seasonings and chicken broth cook together in the Instant Pot. The evaporated milk needs to be tempered before being added to the hot noodles and broth.
Once the noodles have finished cooking, taking a few noodles at a time, stir them into the evaporated milk until about half the noodles are in the evaporated milk. At that point it is okay to dump the evaporated milk and noodles back into the Instant Pot.
The tempering is done so the milk doesn’t curdle. Turn the Instant Pot on saute LOW and gradually stir in the parmesan cheese until it melts and thickens the sauce. And there ya have it! SKINNY Alfredo!
Instant Pot Skinny Alfredo
(Printable Recipe Below)
Instant Pot Skinny Alfredo is just as tasty as my famous Dump & Start recipe only without the heavy cream! Substituting evaporated milk for the heavy cream cuts the calorie and fat content by more than half making this a guilt-free meal!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 tsp minced garlic dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 lb dry linguine noodles broken in half
- 3/4-1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Place the broth, garlic, salt and pepper into the Instant Pot liner. Break noodles in half and add to the pot. All noodles should be covered with the broth. DO NOT STIR.
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 6 minutes. Allow for a 6 min NPR before QR the pressure. Stir the noddles, some may be slightly stuck together, but that is okay. Once you add in the evaporated milk and warm through, all will be well.
- Pour the evaporated milk into a SEPARATE BOWL. Temper the milk by adding a scoop of noodles at a time into the milk and stirring. Once about half of the noodles have been mixed with the evaporated milk, dump the milk and noodles back into the Instant Pot.
- Turn the Instant Pot onto Saute LOW and gradually stir in the parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted completely and the sauce has thickened. Enjoy!
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Check out these other Tasty Recipes!
- Instant Pot Stir Fry
- Instant Pot French Dip
- Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
- Chicken Wraps
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Alfredo Sauce
- Cauliflower Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Pasta Salad
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Tomato Basil Pasta
Instant Pot Skinny Alfredo is just as tasty as my famous Dump & Start recipe only without the heavy cream! Substituting evaporated milk for the heavy cream cuts the calorie and fat content by more than half making this a guilt-free meal! As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instant Pot Skinny Alfredo
Ingredients
Instructions
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 296 Total Fat: 10g Saturated Fat: 6g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 32mg Sodium: 973mg Carbohydrates: 35g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 8g Protein: 16g
Karli Bitner
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MK Watson says
You say to cover all the noodles. What if the broth doesn’t cover all of them?
karlibitner says
I would add a little bit more broth until the pasta is all covered. ?
Amelia says
Have you ever tried doubling the recipe? Thanks in advance!
karlibitner says
I personally haven’t, but I know of there that have with success!
Katelyne says
if i double the recipe it said in a previous comment to use 4 1/2 cups of brith, but how much evap milk should i use? double?
karlibitner says
Yes, you would double the evaporated milk. ?
Angel says
This was AWESOME! My picky husband actually had seconds!
I had no evaporated milk so I used 2% with 2T cornstarch mixed in.
I also use better than boullion instead of broth these days.
Fresh grated lucatelli pecorino Romano and this was AWESOME!
Thank you!!!!!
karlibitner says
Great to know it works well with regular ol’ milk! So happy it got your Hubby’s stamp of approval!
Glinda Lathan says
This was delicious and so easy. The only thing I did different was to use all of the 12 oz can of evaporated milk…’cause I had nothing to do with 4 oz left over?. It took a little longer to thicken up but it still turned out great. Thank you for sharing!
karlibitner says
Glad to hear you enjoyed my recipe, Glinda! ❤️ Thanks for commenting!
Sara McCarn says
The recipe doesn’t say to drain the pasta after it cooks… are you supposed to drain it or does the broth become part of the sauce?
karlibitner says
You are exactly right- the broth becomes part of the sauce. The majority of the broth will be soaked up by the pasta while it cooks. Leave the remaining broth in the Instant Pot and it will be part of the sauce.
Emily Smith says
I’d like to try this tonight, but only have mozzarella on hand. I know there will be a different flavor, but will it still thicken the sauce if I use the same amount of hand- shredded mozzarella?
Thanks in advance!
karlibitner says
Hi Emily! Mozzarella should thicken the sauce. Is will probably make the sauce more of a stringy sauce, instead of the classic consistency of regular Alfredo if that makes sense. Let me know how it goes!
Jena says
This recipe is absolutely delicious!! I’ve made it 3 times in about 2 1/2 weeks already! It is so yummy! Have to make a double batch to have any leftovers. 😊
karlibitner says
Glad you love it, Jena!
Eileen says
Has anybody used chickpea pasta if so is there anything different I have to do thanks
Amber says
OH MY GOODNESS. Where has this been all my life?? I am pretty new to using an InsantPot, but this recipe is so easy it’s basically fool proof.
I substituted whole wheat noodles for regular ones. I still cooked them for 6 minutes but only NR for 4 minutes and they were perfect!
I am usually a jar-of-Alfredo sauce junkie. However, the evaporated milk and Parmesan have me 100% converted! This recipe is so good, you wouldn’t ever know it had the word “Skinny” in front of it.
Thank you so much for sharing!
karlibitner says
BEST COMMENT EVERRRRR!! Thank you so much for that glowing review, Amber!! So happy you loved it!
Smorezgirl85 says
How do I adjust this for my 3 qt instant pot?
karlibitner says
No need to adjust! Just stay near the pot when releasing the pressure after the NPR, since your pot is smaller, there is a higher tendency that liquid will come out of the vent. If this starts to happen, just close the vent and wait another minute or so before trying again.
Heather says
Can I use whole milk instead of evaporated milk?
karlibitner says
Yes, that will work with this skinny recipe. 🙂
Rebecca Ferris says
This was really good. I make alfredo often using a full fat Cooycat Olive Garden recipe. I have tried several “skinny” Alfredo recipes and all were disappointing —until this one. My recipe is still my favorite but this will become my go-to now. It’s delicious and fast and a huge fat/calorie savings! The only change I made was to add about an ounce of fontina cheese with the Parmesan because I had it on hand and I love the flavor it adds in my regular recipe.
karlibitner says
Wow, such a rave review!! Thank you so much! I am glad you finally found a skinny Alfredo you like! ❤️
Rebecca says
I added cooked chicken after the noodles and sauce was made. It was a hit!
I was wondering if you have used frozen tortellini instead of the linguine noodles? How long do you think you would cook the tortellini for?
karlibitner says
Hi Rebecca!! I would cook frozen tortellini for 1 minute HIGH pressure with a 3 min NPR. 🙂 This is the cook time I use for my Tomato Tortellini soup and it comes out perfect every time!
B says
Hi,
How much is 1/2 lb of pasta?
Thanks
Karli Bitner says
1/2 lb of pasta is the same as 8 oz. Generally 1/2 of a package if you are from the U.S. Hope this helps!
Marilou says
Can I use penne pasta instead?
Karli Bitner says
Yes! Cook time will stay the same. 🙂
Brittany Malone says
Hi there,
I know this recipe says it serves 4, but how big is each serving size? 1 cup?
Thanks!
Karli Bitner says
Hi Brittany- Each Serving is 2 ounces of pasta (which is what a serving size is on the pasta box). I would suggest considering how much pasta you usually need to make for your family and then doubling the recipe to use a full box if needed. 🙂
Sandi says
Made this last night. Made a few changes as follows. I sautéed bite size chicken breast chunks until browned. Added penne pasta because that’s what I had in the pantry. I did not “temper” the evaporated milk. I have used evaporated milk many times and have never done this before. I also added about 4 oz of cubed cream cheese after I poured the milk in. Stirred until melted and combined. Also used mozzarella cheese again because it’s what I had. This recipe was a good guild and turned out great. I will use Parmesan cheese next time and may cut down cooking time a bit. The pasta was a tad over cooked. It’s best to let this dish sit for a while to thicken. Over all this was a great recipe.
Jen says
If I wanted to cook chicken at the same time in the pot does any of the instructions change?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Jen- because the cook time is the same for cooking frozen chicken tenderloins you can easily just toss the frozen tenders on top of the pasta and cook everything at the same time. No need to increase cook time. Hope you enjoy!